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The bowl games and playoff were able to accommodate all 82 teams that were qualified (minimum 6 wins) for postseason play with no need to fill slots with special qualifiers, such as the Academic Progress report.
UPDATE (December 14): Six days after all of the matchups were announced, Marshall had to back out of it's Independence Bowl commitment to play Army. After failing to retain head coach Charles Huff, who subsequently left for the same job at Southern Miss, the school reportedly had nearly 40 players who had either entered the portal or declared for the NFL Draft, including all 3 QB's. Louisiana Tech, a 5-7 team from Conference USA, agreed to replace the Herd.
The ACC and SEC lead all conferences with 13 teams each, followed by the B1G with 12, and the Big 12 with 9. The Group of Five conferences were paced by the American with 8, followed by the Sun Belt and MAC with 7 each. The MWC and CUSA each have 5 while 1 spot went to Washington State of the depleted PAC-12 after all but the Cougars and Oregon State found homes in other conferences in the offseason.
Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington are now in the B1G.
Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah went to the Big 12.
Cal and Stanford moved to the ACC, which also welcomed SMU from the American.
Meanwhile, Texas and Oklahoma joined the SEC, Army entered the American, and Kennesaw moved up from the FCS to join CUSA..
Interestingly, three of those above-mentioned conference championships were won by one of the new members. The B1G went to Oregon, the Big 12 to Arizona State, and the American to Army.
It was Army's first conference title, and Arizona State's first outright title since winning the PAC-12 in 1996 (shared with USC in 2007).
Two more newcomers were only ousted in their respective title games by last-sec0nd, or overtime defeats. SMU fell 34-31 on a 56-yard walk-off field to goal to Clemson in the ACC title game, and Texas lost 22-19 in overtime to Georgia in the SEC Championship.
Jacksonville State claimed the CUSA title in just its second season as a FBS team, and its first year of being eligible for the conference title.
Ohio won the MAC for the first time since 1968, and ended an 0-5 mark in prior MAC Championship game appearances (1997-present).
Boise State won a 2nd straight Mountain West title after appearing in its 7th conference championship game in the last 8 years.
Marshall won the Sun Belt in its third season in the league to grab its first conference title since 2014 in the CUSA.
No longer can we really call this a "Bowl Challenge" as 11 of this year's postseason games are part of the new 12-team college football playoff, and 5 of those are not traditional bowl games. The first four games between the 5 through 12 seeds will take place at the home stadium of the teams seeded 5 through 8. Those games will be played on December 20 and 21.
The top four seeds have a bye week and will face the winners of the first four games December 31 and January 1. Those games will be held in the Fiesta, Peach, Rose and Sugar Bowls.
The semifinals will will then be held in the Orange Bowl (1/9) and Cotton Bowl (1/10).
The Championship Game will take place on January 20 in Atlanta.
The 12 playoff participants are:
1. Oregon (B1G)
2. Georgia (SEC)
3. Boise State (MWC)
4. Arizona State (Big 12)
5. Texas (SEC)
6. Penn State (B1G)
7. Notre Dame (Ind.)
8. Ohio State (B1G)
9. Tennessee (SEC)
10. Indiana (B1G)
11. SMU (ACC)
12. Clemson (ACC)
The B1G has 4 teams, followed by the SEC with 3, and the ACC with 2. The other three spots were filled by 1 team each from the Big 12, the Mountain West and Independents.
The 12-team format obviously opens the field. This year, there are four teams that are getting their first inclusion in the BCS Championship and CFP Playoff eras (1998-present). Those teams are Arizona State, Penn State, Indiana and SMU.
To indicate how closed-door the playoff format had been, Texas last year became just the 15th different team in ten years to be a part of the 4-team field. From 2019-2023, only 5 new teams were involved - Cincinnati, Michigan, TCU and Washington - for an average of 1 out of 4 every year. And only 6 different teams have won the title in 10 years - Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State and Michigan
By contrast, 16 different teams appeared in the BCS Championship game over its 16 seasons and 12 different schools won the title.
SEE: Complete Postseason Schedule
Latest update: December 14 after Marshall (Sun Belt) opted-out and was replaced by Louisiana Tech (CUSA)
| Conference | W-L | Games | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| American | 0-0 | 8 | .000 |
| ACC | 0-0 | 13 | .000 |
| B1G | 0-0 | 12 | .000 |
| Big 12 | 0-0 | 9 | .000 |
| CUSA | 0-0 | 5 | .000 |
| Independents | 0-0 | 2 | .000 |
| MAC | 0-0 | 7 | .000 |
| MWC | 0-0 | 5 | .000 |
| PAC-2 | 0-0 | 1 | .000 |
| SEC | 0-0 | 13 | .000 |
| Sun Belt | 0-0 | 7 | .000 |
As of December 13, these teams will all be playing bowl games under the guidance of interim head coaches - Fresno State, Jax State, North Carolina, Ohio, Sam Houston, UNLV and West Virginia. (Marshall was on this list before the Herd backed out).
Ohio and Jax State will have a battle between new interim head coaches when they meet in the Cure Bowl on December 20.
West Virginia has a minimum of preparation time before the Mountaineers face Memphis on December 17 in the Frisco Bowl under an interim head coach.
The worst matchup of a bowl game this year when you use the combined Congrove Computer Rankings of the participants is No. 87 Western Michigan vs. No. 79 South Alabama (166 combined ranking) in the first game of the bowl season in the Salute To Veterans Bowl (formerly Camellia Bowl) on December 14. Second place goes to No. 85 Coastal Carolina hosts No. 77 UTSA (162 combined ranking) in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
In 2023, the worst matchup was No. 88 Georgia State vs. No. 83 Utah State (171 combined ranking) in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Second place went to No. 87 Arkansas State vs. No. 79 Northern Illinois (166 combined ranking) in the Camellia Bowl.
In 2022, the worst matchup had a combined ranking of 189 with No. 106 Rice clashing with No. 83 Southern Miss in the Lending Tree Bowl (now the 68 Ventures Bowl). And second place went to the Quick Lane Bowl with No. 89 Bowling Green against No. 88 New Mexico State for a 177 combined ranking.
In 2021, the worst matchup was 91st-ranked Old Dominion vs. No. 72 Tulsa (163 combined ranking) in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. The Famous Idaho Potato had the second-worst matchup of 2021 between No. 85 Wyoming and No. 74 Kent State (159 combined ranking).
All of the 1st round playoff matchups are home games for seeds 5 through 8. The only other home game is Coastal Carolina hosting UTSA in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl - North Texas is just 42 miles from the SMU campus where the Mean Green will play Texas State which will travel 229 miles from San Marcos.
GameAbove Sports - This game in Detroit has Pitt playing Toledo whose campus is just 61 miles from Ford Field.
Fenway - UConn is 81 miles from Fenway where the Huskies will battle North Carolina.
Gasparilla - Tulane will play Florida at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa which is just 130 miles from the Gator's campus.
Texas Bowl - Baylor will travel 162 miles to play LSU in Houston while the Tigers will travel 271 miles.
Salute To Veterans - South Alabama will travel 171 miles to play Western Michigan in Montgomery, Alabama.
Duke's Mayo - Virginia Tech will travel 174 miles from Blacksburg to face Minnesota in the Duke's Mayo Bowl in Charlotte.
Hawaii Bowl - South Florida will fly 4,691 miles to face San Jose State which will fly 2,412 miles.
These bowl games will be featuring teams that have never previously played each other.
Salute to Veterans - South Alabama vs. Western Michigan
Frisco - Memphis vs. West Virginia
Boca Raton - James Madison vs. Western Kentucky
New Orleans - Sam Houston vs. Georgia Southern
Cure - Ohio vs. Jax State
Playoff - Clemson at Texas
Myrtle Beach - UTSA at Coastal Carolina
Pinstripe - Boston College vs. Nebraska
New Mexico - TCU vs. Louisiana
Pop Tarts - Miami (FLA) vs. Iowa State
Sun - Louisville vs. Washington
Citrus - South Carolina vs. Illinois
Fiesta (Playoff) - Penn State or SMU vs. Boise State
- The Broncos have never played the Nittany Lions and are 2-0 vs.SMU.
Peach (Playoff) - Clemson or Texas vs. Arizona State
- The Sun Devils have never played the Tigers or Longhorns
Sugar (Playoff) - Indiana or Notre Dame vs. Georgia
- The Bulldogs have never played Indiana.
- The Bulldogs are 3-0 vs. Notre Dame with wins in the 2017 and 2019 regular seasons, as well as the 1981 Sugar Bowl.
SERVPRO First Responder - North Texas vs. Texas State
Duke's Mayo - Virginia Tech vs. Minnesota
Gasparilla - Tulane vs. Florida. Florida is 13-6-2 all-time vs. the Green Wave, but the last meeting was in 1984.
Playoff - Indiana at Notre Dame. Irish are 23-5-1 in series that has only been played once since 1958 and that came in 1991. Last Indiana win was 1950.
Playoff - SMU at Penn State. Nittany Lions are 1-0-1 with a win in 1978 and a tie in the 1947 season Cotton Bowl.
Playoff - Tennessee at Ohio State. Only previous meeting was a win by the Vols in the 1995 season Citrus Bowl.
Famous Idaho Potato - Fresno State vs. Northern Illinois. Teams last met in this bowl game in 2010 (Huskies won 40-17). NIU leads the series 3-2.
Hawaii - San Jose State vs. USF - SJSU won the only prior meeting during the 2017 regular season at San Jose.
GameAbove Sports - Pitt vs. Toledo. Pitt leads 2-1 in previous meetings between 2002 and 2006 with each team winning at home.
Rate - Kansas State vs. Rutgers. Only previous meeting was the 2006 season Texas Bowl which Rutgers won 37-10.
68 Ventures - Bowling Green vs. Arkansas State. BGSU was a 17-0 winner in only previous meeting at BGSU in 1974.
Armed Forces - Navy vs. Oklahoma. Navy won 10-0 in only previous meeting in 1965 in Norman.
Holiday - Syracuse vs. Washington State. Syracuse won 52-25 in only previous meeting in 1979 at Syracuse.
Las Vegas - USC vs. Texas A&M. Trojans are 3-0 vs. Aggies by a cumulative 98-35, but all of those games were played between 1964 and 1977.
Arizona - Colorado State vs. Miami (O). Rams are 2-0 vs. RedHawks with the only meetings in the 2003 and 2010 regular seasons.
Independence - Army vs. Louisiana Tech. Army won both previous meetings in 2008 (35-16 in Dallas) and 2013 (14-7) at West Point.
Texas - LSU vs. Baylor. Tigers lead the series with Baylor 8-3, but this is the first meeting since 1985.
Birmingham - Georgia Tech vs. Vanderbilt. - Jackets lead series 20-15-3 and are 12-0-1 in games played since the Commodores' last won in 1941.
Liberty - Arkansas leads the series with Texas Tech 29-8, but they haven't met since 2015 and the Red Raiders won 3 of the last 4. The teams have also split the last 8, dating back to 1986.
Fenway - North Carolina is 3-0 all-time vs UConn (1990-2008).
Military - NC State has a 19-13 lead in the series with East Carolina and the Wolfpack won the last 3 between 2018-2022.
Alamo - Colorado is 8-3-1 all-time vs. BYU, but the teams haven't met since the 1988 Freedom Bowl which lasted 11 years in Anaheim from 1984 to 1994.
Music City - Missouri vs. Iowa. Mizzou leads the series 7-6 and the last one was also in a bowl game (2010 Insight). They were going to play in the 2020 Music CIty Bowl, but it was canceled 3 days before the game due to Covid issues in the Tigers' program.
ReliaQuest - Alabama and Michigan are tied at 3-3 in their series with the last meeting this past January in a playoff semifinal playoff game in the Rose Bowl that the Wolverines won 27-20 in overtime. The ReliaQuest was formerly known as the Outback Bowl from 1996-2022 and the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995. These teams met in the 1987 season Hall of Fame Bowl (Michigan 28-24) and the 1997 season Outback Bowl (Alabama 17-14).
Rose (Playoff) - Tennessee or Ohio State vs. Oregon
- The Ducks are 2-0 vs. Tennessee with routs in the 2010 and 2013 regular seasons.
- The Ducks are 2-9 vs. Ohio State after winning at home this year (32-31) and at Ohio State (35-28) in 2021.
Bahamas - Liberty is 3-0 all-time vs. Buffalo with wins in 1998, 2019 and 2023.
Massachusetts - Joined FBS in 2012. Played in 1964 Tangerine Bowl when that game was a College Division game. Lost 14-13 to East Carolina.
Kennesaw - New to FBS in 2024
Sam Houston - 2nd season in FBS
Of the teams that made it this year, these had the longest wait to get back to a bowl game:
Nebraska, 2016
Colorado State, 2017
Vanderbilt, 2018
Navy, 2019
Colorado, 2020
Indiana, 2020
Army, 2021
Arizona State, 2021
Charlotte, 0-1 - Uninvited this year
James Madison, 0-1
Louisiana-Monroe, 0-1 - Uninvited this year
Jacksonville State, 1-0 - Won 34-31 over Louisiana-Lafayette in the New Orleans Bowl.
South Alabama, 1-3 - Won 59-10 over Eastern Michigan in the 68 Ventures Bowl.
Texas State, 1-0 - Won 45-21 over Rice in the First Responder Bowl.
UTSA, 1-4 - Won 35-17 over Marshall in the Frisco Bowl.
This teams have the longest continuing current streak of bowl absence:
Louisiana-Monroe, 2012
New Mexico, 2016
Akron, 2017
Stanford, 2018
Charlotte, 2019
Virginia, 2019
FIU, 2019
Temple, 2019
FAU, 2020
Louisiana Tech, 2020
These teams have the longest continuing current streaks of bowl appearances:
Georgia, 28
Oklahoma, 26
Alabama, 21
Clemson, 20
These teams had their bowl appearance streak snapped this year:
Wisconsin, 22
Oklahoma State, 18
These teams have the most consecutive bowl victories (last season of a bowl loss in parenthesis).
NOTE: Excludes CFP Championship. All teams listed are playing in a bowl game this year, unless otherwise noted.
Minnesota, 7 (2013)
Air Force, 5 (2015)
Duke, 5 (2014)
Fresno State, 5 (2014)
Georgia, 5 (2018)
Northwestern, 5 (2015) - Uninvited this year
Ohio, 5 (2016)
Buffalo, 3 (2018)
Georgia State, 3 (2019) - Uninvited this year
Maryland, 3 (2014) - Uninvited this year
Memphis, 3 (2019)
Texas Tech, 3 (2017)
Washington, 3 (2018)
Western Kentucky, 3 (2020)
Winning streaks snapped last year:
- Alabama, 8 (2014) - Lost 27-20 in overtime to Michigan in the Rose Bowl semifinal playoff game.
- New Mexico State, 4 (Never, 4-1-1) - Lost 37-10 to Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl.
- Troy, 5 (2009) - Lost 17-10 to Duke in the Birmingham Bowl.
- Texas A&M, 3 (2017) - Lost 31-23 to Oklahoma State in the Texas Bowl.
- Wisconsin, 3 (2019) - Lost 35-31 to LSU in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
These teams have the most consecutive bowl losses (last season of a bowl win in parenthesis).
NOTE: Excludes CFP Championship. All teams listed are playing in a bowl game this year, unless otherwise noted.
UTEP, 7 (1967) - Uninvited this year
Indiana, 6 (1991)
North Texas, 6 (2013)
Utah, 5 (2017)
Auburn, 4 (2018) - Uninvited this year
Colorado, 4 (2004)
Colorado State, 4 (2013)
Miami, FLA, 5 (2016)
North Carolina, 4 (2019)
NC State, 4 (2017)
SMU, 4 (2012)
Bowling Green, 3 (2014)
Cincinnati, 3 (2019) - Uninvited this year
Connecticut, 3 (2009)
Florida, 3 (2019)
Illinois, 3 (2011)
San Jose State, 3 (2015)
Washington State, 3 (2018)
Losing streaks snapped last year:
- Northern Illinois, 7 (2011) - Won 21-19 over Arkansas State in the Camellia Bowl.
- Michigan, 6 (2015) - Won 27-20 in overtime over Alabama in the Rose Bowl semifinal playoff game.
- Missouri, 4 (2014) - Won 14-3 over Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.
- UTSA, 4 (Never) - Won 35-17 over Marshall in the Frisco Bowl.
- Virginia Tech, 4 (2016) - Won 41-20 over Tulane in Military Bowl.
- South Alabama, 3 (Never) - Won 59-10 over Eastern Michigan in the 68 Ventures Bowl.
- USC, 3 (2016) - Won 42-28 over Louisville in the Holiday Bowl.
(Minimum 20 appearances and .600 win pct.)
NOTE: Excludes CFP Championship. All teams listed are playing in a bowl game this year, unless otherwise noted.
Oklahoma State, 22-12 (.647) - Uninvited this year
Georgia, 36-20-3 (.637)
USC, 36-21 (.632)
Utah, 17-10 (.630)
Alabama, 43-25-3 (.627)
Florida State, 29-18-2 (.612) - Uninvited this year
Mississippi, 26-15 (.634)
Boise State, 13-8 (.619)
Penn State, 31-20-2 (.604)
Bubbling under .600 (and above .550):
Syracuse, 16-11-1 (.589)
Mississippi State, 15-11 (.577) - Uninvited this year
Georgia Tech, 26-20 (.565)
LSU, 30-24-1 (.55545)
Air Force, 16-13-1 (.55500) - Uninvited this year
Tennessee, 31-25 (.554)
Oklahoma, 31-25-1 (.553)
NOTE: Excludes CFP Championship. All teams listed are playing in a bowl game this year, unless otherwise noted.
Alabama, 43
USC, 36
Georgia, 36
Oklahoma, 31
Penn State, 31
Tennessee, 31
Texas, 31
LSU, 30
Florida State, 29 - Uninvited this year
Georgia Tech, 26
Mississippi, 26
Nebraska, 26
Clemson, 25
Ohio State, 25
Auburn, 24 - Uninvited this year
Florida, 24
Michigan, 22
Oklahoma State, 22 - Uninvited this year
Notre Dame 21
OREGON - Won 18 straight regular season games. Won 14 straight over-all.
Last: Won 45-37 over Penn State in the B1G Championship in Indianapolis on Saturday, December 7.
Next: Rose Bowl (1/1). College Football Playoff No. 1 seed faces winner of No. 9 seed Tennessee at No. 8 seed Ohio State.
GEORGIA - Won 31 straight home games.
Last: Won 22-19 (OT) over Texas in the SEC Championship in Atlanta on Saturday, December 7.
Next: Sugar Bowl (1/1). College Football Playoff No. 2 seed faces winner of No. 10 seed Indiana at No. 7 seed Notre Dame.
BOISE STATE - Won 12 straight conference games. (Tied with Army)
Last: Won 21-7 at home over UNLV in the Mountain West Championship on Friday, December 6.
Next: Fiesta Bowl (12/31). College Football Playoff No. 3 seed faces winner of No. 11 seed SMU at No. 6 seed Penn State.
ARMY - Won 12 straight conference games. (Tied with Boise State)
Last: Won 35-14 at home over Tulane in the American Conference Championship on Friday, December 6.
Next: Plays Navy on Saturday, December 14 at Landover, MD.
Plays Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl on December 28.
TEXAS - Won 11 straight true road games (at opposition venue).
Last: Lost 22-19 in OT to Georgia in the SEC Championship in Atlanta on Saturday, December 7.
Next: No. 5 seed Longhorns host No. 12 seed Clemson in 1st round of the College Football Playoff on December 21.
SMU - Won 10 straight true road games (at opposition venue) - second to Texas.
Last - Lost 34-31 to Clemson in the ACC Championship in Charlotte on Saturday, December 7.
Next: No. 11 seed Mustangs visit No. 6 seed Penn State in 1st round of the College Football Playoff on December 21.
KENT STATE - Lost 21 straight over-all. Lost 16 straight conference games. Lost 14 straight road games. Lost 9 straight home games.
Last: Lost 43-7 at Buffalo on Tuesday November 26.
Next: Season complete (0-12, 0-8 MAC).
TEMPLE - Lost 20 straight true road games.
Last: Lost 24-17 at home to North Texas on Saturday November 30.
Next: Season complete (3-9, 2-6 AAC)
FBS schools were 115-6 in FBS-FCS games this season, and are a cumulative 1,915-158 (.924) since we began tracking this in 2003.
In 2024, there were 121 matchups scheduled between FBS and FCS schools with 119 playing one such game, while Hawaii and UMass each play two.
15 schools were not scheduled to play a FCS opponent. Of those fifteen schools, 5 are in the B1G (Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, USC and UCLA). Texas is the only school in the SEC that will not play a FCS program. The same is true for Virginia Tech in the ACC. In fact, Texas and Virginia Tech, along with Michigan and Houston, were repeats from the list of schools in 2023 that played all FBS programs.
2024 FCS wins vs. FBS:
August 24: Montana State 35, New Mexico 31
September 7: St. Francis (PA) 23, Kent State 17
September 7: Idaho 17, Wyoming 13
September 7: Southern Utah 27, UTEP 24 (OT)
September 21: Monmouth 45, FIU 42
September 28: UT-Martin 24, Kennesaw 13
In 2023, FBS schools were 114-4. These were the FCS wins last year:
September 9: Idaho 33, Nevada 6
September 9: Southern Illinois 14, Northern Illinois 12
September 9: Fordham 40, Buffalo 37
September 16: Sacramento State 30, Stanford 23